Below the Surface of Superhumans – How Average People Can Become High Performers

I’ve come to the conclusion that many of the experts on human performance were superhuman long before they were known as experts. The list of high performers across all industries commonly includes Navy Seals, professional athletes, young and wealthy entrepreneurs, and Ivy League graduates. Keep in mind, these are achievements they gained in their early teens, 20s, and rarely past their 30s.

These people all have great lessons to teach, but I cannot help but side-eye the fact that they were already superstars. They did not necessarily come from privileged backgrounds. Actually, many of them faced and overcame incredible adversities. The kind that would break most people or leave us feeling hopeless enough to quit.

And that’s my point. These people achieved success by being extraordinary from an early age. Almost as if they were born that way. I don’t believe anyone is born this way, but they do seem to possess the ability to operate at a superhuman level. Yet, they all have something we all have available to us. I feel confident in crediting all of their success to one foundational skill: their mindset.

I’ll straight up admit, I’m jealous and envious of these kinds of people. I wish I had their direction, drive, motivation, attitude, and work ethic at a young age. Heck, I wish I had it now. It would be easy to compare ourselves to these people and feel inferior. But take it easy on yourself. It is unreasonable to compare yourself to them. They are outliers, making up a microscopic number of the human population throughout all of time. On the surface, it looks incredible. However, when you find out what lies below the surface and what it took to be at their level, you may not be so willing to trade anything with them.

We can learn a lot from these types of people, but I feel I can learn a lot more from someone who is not an outlier. Someone more relatable. Someone who once operated at an average or below-average level and learned to go beyond average. Someone like me.

I’ve had to struggle for a while to overcome my own self-imposed limitations. I would even say perhaps all of my limitations are self-limiting beliefs. But, I cannot ignore that the way we are each wired can make some traits incredibly difficult to overcome. Not impossible, but difficult. Or as I prefer it said, not difficult, just time-consuming. Others may not see me as a high performer, but what is most important and all that matters is that I see myself as a high performer. It has taken a lifetime to get here. I know the work I put into being a high performer must never stop if I want to continue being this way.

Regardless of any advantages or disadvantages you have, performing at a higher level requires more awareness, thought, practice, and sometimes, medical interventions. Every single one of the superhumans I speak of had to work very hard to earn their success. None of them were gifted or idle in their efforts. If you want to perform at a higher level, whatever that means to you, you have to really want it, dedicate yourself to it, and never quit. You can take breaks, but you must never quit.

Here’s the main takeaway. I have learned that with the right mindset, I can take the right action and achieve a level of performance that leaves me feeling great and makes me believe anything I want to accomplish is possible. And I do it by using methods that are available to all of us and that anyone can learn, regardless of how exceptional they may or may not be. The solutions are what mental performance training is all about. Think better. Act better. Become better.

Through mental performance training, we can all become exceptional by our own standards. I encourage you to begin or continue your studies on mastering your own mindset. Then you can pass that on to others around you, as I am.